Most supply chain managers feel locked in by the the users stated needs. The user might be in manufacturing who is responding to the B2B market and the sales forecast put out by the sales folks. Frequently in many parts of the developed world the supply manager deals directly with marketing as the whole productContinue reading “Innovation in the B2B and supply chain: you are less locked-in than you think”
Category Archives: Change Strategy
Why does innovation create jobs?
An earlier post on how innovation create jobs is rather popular. However,people seem to have questions about the “why” in the link of innovation and jobs. Why should creating a new product or service result in new jobs?Where in the process of innovation are these jobs created?
Does the DOJ-Apple lawsuit disintermediate publishing and hurt authors?
The DOJ-Apple lawsuit seems fair to consumers who would gain $2-3 for every e-book they allegedly over-paid for. This $2-3 was more than the Amazon's wretched $9.99 price which is supposed to have squeezed the margins of publishers. These publishers are then alleged to have teamed up with Apple and in doing so forced AmazonContinue reading “Does the DOJ-Apple lawsuit disintermediate publishing and hurt authors?”
Interactivity: why the video gaming industry is booming
An earlier popular post on video gaming being three times music and twice the movie industry begs the question why? The answer will be apparent if you try this experiment with millennials i.e. those born between 1981 to 2000. Here is the experiment: Put a bunch of millenials in a room with each in frontContinue reading “Interactivity: why the video gaming industry is booming”
Organizational bases of power: what’s up and what’s down with the Internet ?
"Power" in distribution channels is a fascinating topic and so is the notion of organizational power on which Jeffery Pfeffer had a book out that this blog discussed in an earlier post. But this post is about the six bases of power (see the lower part of the Wikipedia page) that seem to be changingContinue reading “Organizational bases of power: what’s up and what’s down with the Internet ?”
Best Buy to close fifty stores: rethinking the value of face to face advice with the Internet
If you have visited any US Best Buy store you would have noted the quite extraordinary knowledge and talent of their store sales force. So it is a disappointing to learn that Best Buy will be closing 50 stores. Because neither the stores or the sales people can be much better. It's just that theContinue reading “Best Buy to close fifty stores: rethinking the value of face to face advice with the Internet”
US Healthcare: 5% people account for 50% of the cost: the Camden experiment
You have heard of the 80:20 or Pareto principle, but the 5:50 with US healthcare costs is just amazing. And guess what – all those in that bottom of pyramid 5% who go innumerable times to the Hospital Emergency Rooms (ER) and rack up what becomes 50% of the cost- are rather unhappy with USContinue reading “US Healthcare: 5% people account for 50% of the cost: the Camden experiment”
Why Encyclopedia Britannica took twenty years to go digital- the sales force angle
Finally, Encyclopedia Britannica has gone digital (Reuters 2012) And it took 20 years for the 200 year old organization to do so.Above is a 1988 TV commercial and you can see the PC in evidence. PC makers were already giving free Grolier Encyclopedia discs alongwith the IBM PC’s that came with Windows DOS. But BritannicaContinue reading “Why Encyclopedia Britannica took twenty years to go digital- the sales force angle”
Marketing is about segmenting and diversity is about *not* segmenting
Marketing is all about segmenting so that you have viable “buckets” of customers for whom you can develop product or service offerings, get a reasonable price as you communicate your offering and deliver it without excessive cost. “Stereotyping” is thus at the heart of conventional marketing and it is “stereotyping” that is at the core of diversity issues in organizations.
Happy 100th Birthday to Oreo cookies: keeping the soul of a brand
In a rapidly changing world- Oreo cookies give you a sense of stability and comfort and that is the soul of the Oreo brand. The largest selling cookie of the 20th century has survived numerous wars,technology upheavals,financial meltdowns and extreme globalization. If you were used in childhood to "twist,lick and dunk" and are now watchingContinue reading “Happy 100th Birthday to Oreo cookies: keeping the soul of a brand”